A themed, first-draft storytelling event among friends.

For six years, Story Shuffle was a regularly organized, live recording of themed stories. Now the best of these stories are being rereleased as a weekly podcast. From 4-5pm Sunday, July 23, 2017, we'll record live to close the podcast. Join us.

Today we close out the final episode of the weekly Story Shuffle podcast, a special one-hour, live-recording at the fifth annual Philadelphia Podcast Festival. Fittingly enough, we’re going out with the theme of Closure, featuring two of our favorite storytellers: reporter and columnist Annette John-Hall, fresh off her ‘Cosby Unraveled’ podcast, and writer and journalist Juliana Reyes. Joined by hosts Christopher Wink and Michaela Winberg, all share their stories in front of a live studio audience.

For the last six months, you’ve been hearing the Story Shuffle theme song, as produced by Tony Abraham, credited in each episode’s close. Now hear the full song, which was first produced in 2011, and hear the story behind the song.

For the final regular episode of Story Shuffle, we share some stories about becoming the real you. First, El Sawyer tells a story about growing up in what he calls the hood. Then Patrick McNeil shares a fictional story about a girl who could swallow scars. Come back next week, when we’ll release our live recording of Story Shuffle at the 5th annual Philadelphia Podcast Festival.

Sometimes, love feels a lot like some of our favorite things. In this episode of Story Shuffle, two storytellers will share the parallels they’ve drawn between love and other objects. First, Christopher Wink will compare love with Philly’s favorite summertime dessert: water ice. Then Adam Teterus will explain why the song he shared with his first love might not have been quite appropriate.

If you look hard enough, you can find joy in some strange places. This week on Story Shuffle, hear about some less common places that felt like paradise for our storytellers. First, Kim Quick will tell us about when she spent some time in a place that sorta felt like a cult. Then Patrick McNeil will share an experience he had while couch-surfing.

Even in the middle of the summer, you can’t escape grades! This week on Story Shuffle, hear about a couple times our storytellers either received or gave grades. First, Malik — a friend of a storyteller who visited from Senegal — will tell us about the time he pranked a teacher. Then Jared Levy will share a fiction story about dishing out grades for a living.